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Officials Critical of TMI Communication
Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed said at 10 p.m. - six hours after the incident - a dispatcher called to say something was happening at TMI but didn't know what. It wasn't until the mayor called abc27 News that he got some answers.
"Channel 27, God bless. You had the details and the emergency management system knew nothing. That's pretty telling," Reed said.
Dauphin County dispatchers were also kept in the dark for far too long, according to commissioner Nick DiFrancesco. "We expect the most minor incident, if it's going to have potential impact in this community, we expect communication," he said.
If it had been a huge event, protocols require instant communication. Since the radiation detected was far below that threshold, the decision was made to deal with workers first and notify municipalities and the media later; several hours later.
"I don't believe there was a mistake made. We did communicate that night," plant spokesman Ralph DeSantis said.
Londonderry Township Manager Steve Letavic defends Three Mile Island's reaction time. He says once they know it's not a threat to the public, it's more important to get it right than get it fast.
"The last thing we want to do is get wrong information out to our residents and cause a panic or cause a response that's not appropriate," Letavic said.
Reed said he expects in the future, TMI will give a courtesy phone call; even for minor incidents.
"We're going to look and critique ourselves," DeSantis said. "If there's improvement to make, we're going to make that improvement. We're always looking to get better."
DeSantis has said the radioactive dust came from reactor cooling system pipes that were being cut by workers and was stirred up when the ventilation system started. The unit has been shut down since Oct. 26 to refuel the reactor and replace the steam generators.
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